Online education has been in the national
news a lot lately, and it is definitely at the
forefront of many agendas at the University
of Delaware as well.
The online MBA will provide high-quality
business education in a flexible format
required by a growing segment of the
student population.
"The landscape of higher education is
changing as a result of new technology and
the resulting changes in students' learning
styles," said Rick Andrews, deputy dean in
the Lerner College. "By using a new delivery
modality, our MBA will be accessible to
working professionals who travel frequently,
to members of the U.S. military and to others
who, for whatever reason, cannot make it to
campus on a regular basis to participate in
the traditional MBA."
Students in the new online MBA will
complete 48 credits in the Lerner College's
AACSB-accredited program over the course
of eight seven-week terms.
Courses will consist of micro-lectures
delivered in multimedia format; readings,
problems, cases and discussion board
participation; experiential learning via
corporate simulation exercises; and
individual and team projects and assignments.
"This is not a diluted product, half an MBA
or MBA 'lite,' but a full MBA tailored to the
needs of a different target audience and
offering the same quality Lerner College
MBA that our resident students receive,"
said Bruce Weber, dean of the Lerner
College. "The proposition for prospective
students is attractive, both in terms of
knowledge gained and time to completion
of the degree."
The online MBA initiative is not the first
online graduate program at UD. Nursing and
engineering degrees have been available in
a distance learning format for years.
UD's School of Nursing offers master of
science in nursing (MSN) degree programs
in an online format. The clinical nurse
specialist (CNS) program, with its specialty
areas in adult gerontology and the nursing
of children, is completely online, as is a
CNS post-master's certificate. A health
services administration concentration
in the MSN is also 100% online. [Click here to learn more about online graduate nursing programs.]
The School of Nursing offers a
hybrid online/in-classroom format
for the family nurse practitioner
and adult nurse practitioner
MSN programs. Hybrid post-master's
certificate programs are also offered in both
those specialties.
A growing list of graduate level
engineering courses can also be taken in
one or more distance formats (CD-ROM,
DVD, web-streamed), providing a
professional development opportunity for
working engineers. [Click here to learn more about online graduate engineering programs.]
